New Zealand Cricket announced a 15-member squad for the five-match T20 International series against Pakistan, which gets underway in Christchurch. Michael Bracewell will serve as New Zealand’s captain as regular skipper Mitchel Santner will not be available, while Kane Williamson was not considered for selection after making himself unavailable, the New Zealand Cricket said. Ish Sodhi, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Seifert have also been recalled. 

“Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke have been included for the first three games of the series only, as the selectors seek to manage the workloads of the pace-bowlers returning from the Champions Trophy,” New Zealand Cricket said. Matt Henry, who finished as ICC Champions Trophy 2025’s top wicket-taker, has been chosen selected the last two games. Last April, Bracewell led the BLACKCAPS on a white-ball tour of Pakistan, and he stated he enjoyed the challenge of captaining the team. 

Read More: Pakistan T20I, ODI squads for New Zealand tour announced “It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country. I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice,” Michael Bracewell said. “Mitch Santner’s done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I’ll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in.”

 “Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they’ll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand squad Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (matches 4-5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (matches last two matches), Kyle Jamieson (first three matches), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (first three matches), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi. 

Pakistan T20I squad Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan. T20I series schedule 1st T20I: Sunday, 16 March, Hagley Oval, Christchurch 2nd T20I: Tuesday 18 March, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin 3rd T20I: Friday 21 March, Eden Park, Auckland 4th T20I: Sunday 23 March, Bay Oval, Tauranga

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)